Jelena Dokic has revealed her dad, Damir Dokic, died on Friday, aged 67.
The former tennis player announced the news on her Instagram page.
“My relationship with my father has been difficult and painful with a lot of history,” she wrote. “Despite everything and no matter how hard, difficult and in the last 10 years, even non-existent our relationship and communication was, it is never easy losing a parent and a father, even one you are estranged from.”
She continued, “The loss of an estranged parent comes with a difficult and complicated grief. “It’s an end of a chapter and life as I know it. There are lots of conflicting and complex emotions and feelings for me…Especially important to who I am as a person and what I want to stand for, which is respect, grace, kindness, dignity and empathy, I will and want to be that person in this situation too.”
A difficult childhood
Jelena has been open about accusing her father of abuse during her tennis career. In her book, Unbreakable, she told how the abuse “basically started day one of me playing tennis,” saying that it “continued there. It spiralled out of control.” She revealed that he once beat her unconsciousness after she lost a match by whipping her repeatedly with a leather belt.
Learning to forgive
She previously told Woman’s Day that being treated so badly had meant she’d become stronger. “I don’t resent anyone, even my father,” she said. “It’s never been about revenge, or holding a grudge. In fact, it’s the opposite – I think a strong and caring hand is the only way to really change things.”
“Despite everything I’ve been through, one of the main things I will always stand up for is kindness….I will not ever blame another person for anything that has happened in my life,” she said. “It took me a long time to realise that vulnerability is actually a super power, where once upon a time I think that it was looked upon as a weakness.”
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